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Starting the Year with a Sweater

Alright, so I tried to get a witty, funny entry to this post, but it will not come.

So I’ll just start jabbering, like I do most of the time anyway. 😉

In the last few blogposts, I have shown you some pictures of a new sweater I started in January. One of my resolutions for 2016 is that I want to use up the sweater quantities of yarn that I have and knit them up into – well, sweaters. Or cardigans. I want to make at least two, and finish my Amiga cardigan as well (I am determined to have it done by the end of February. Really).

Since I am always a bit er, hesitant to try out new things, I grabbed the opportunity by the tail when I got sorted into Ravenclaw House in the Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC, I still explain it, sorry). As in the books, you can “sit” for an OWL in every class – starting in your first term. All the classes have different goals – you have to represent the planets and stars in Astronomy, knit extensive lace charts for Charms, knit something multicoloured for Potions, etc., etc.

I opted for an OWL in Muggle Studies, which means that I have to knit a long-sleeved, adult-sized sweater within two to three months.

The choice fell pretty quickly on the Sandhurst Jumper, a beautiful freebie by Artesano Yarns (they have quite a few. Worth clicking on that link).

Extensive swatching followed. The pattern tells you to get a gauge of 20sts and 26 rows to 10cm (4″), but of course, I won’t get gauge, and so I ended up with

18,6 sts and 30,1 rows (4,0mm needle, as requested by pattern)

19,16 sts and 30,43 rows (3,5mm needle)

20,26 sts and 32,3 rows (3,0mm needle)

Just to be clear, we’re talking DK weight yarn here. My panic rose when I got some actual measurements of my body and realised that a 90 cm bust would be 3 cm to small, unless I chose to wear the sweater without a bra and top underneath (totally the best option for work. Ever).

A call for help in the Tower (the Ravenclaw group) and the incredible help of my fellow ‘claws (I’m talking the talk already), I set off with a 3,5mm needle and the knowledge that I would have to do some adjustements according to the rows.

At first, it went pretty well.

I managed to do a decent Provisional Cast On, using a second cable needle instead of scrap yarn (I have no idea who came up with this, but: Thank you. You’re a genius!), and I used a lifeline after every single cable repeat.

I succeded in knitting evenly enough so that the finished cable band looked fine

and even managed to get a somewhat decend join of both ends for the back.

Since my calculations (or rather: Our calculations; Philipp helped me) told me that the neck would be shorter than the original pattern (due to my smaller row gauge), we somehow calculated that I was missing to rows and spread these evenly among the “decrease one stitch per pattern repeat / knit 1 round” section, so that I knit two plain rows instead of one in round 2, 6, 10 … You get the idea.

And so I ended up with this today. Well, “last night” would be more accurate, because I tried the sweater on this afternoon – and it sagged. Horribly.

So rip it, rip it, rip it was what I did, and now I am re-knitting the neck decreases without the additional plain rounds and I see how that goes. I am not that mad, though – rather glad that I put the sweater on before finishing it and binding off and then having to discover that it didn’t fit.

I might have to do it again. But then, I’ll do additional rounds and knit with a 3,0mm needle.
We’re talking DK weight, after all.

Have a wonderful start into the week, my friends! Thank you so much for your patience and take care!

Teh-heh. It’s not that bad, actually. I don’t like working with big needles (which is why the Amiga still isn’t finished, I’m working on 5,5mms here), so this is okay. I sometimes freak out a bit (knitting Philipp’s hat the year before last in Aran weight on 3,5mm needles and still having to leave out one repeat was truly weird), but otherwise, I’m fine. I only hope I won’t have to reknit it with 3,0mm and then go down a needle size … 2,5mm would be really scary.

I am just beginning the Sandhurst sweater and have a question. Is there a cable pattern chart somewhere that I can see better? The cable pattern chart on allfreekitting is very hard for me to see. When i enlarge it, it just gets blurry. Thanks, i know its been a while since you made this, but i ve enjoyed your comments on this project and they will be helpful to me.

Hi Rose! Oh wow, that is really blurry … I got my pattern from the artesano website – it’s a -pdf file so you could enlarge it with no problems. 🙂 I’ve taken the liberty to send it to you; if you’ve got mail from notizbuchfragmente – at – web.de, please don’t delete it! 🙂 Or check your spamfolder. 🙂